The role of Higher Education Institutions in providing excellence in research and teaching, and enhancing knowledge generation and transfer is a central subject of the Bologna and Lisbon Processes. Most European Universities have taken-up the challenge of creating the necessary conditions and structures for successfully promoting research, knowledge transfer, and university-enterprise links. EU experiences can be very useful for Ukrainian Universities, which have strong research potential and are called by policy makers to implement similar structural changes.
The strategic outputs of the UNI4INNO project include the implementation of structural and organizational reforms in Ukrainian Universities, enhancement of managerial and administrative capacities, and promotion of an innovation culture of University staff and students, relevant authorities and the private sector, through generation of immediate results and “success stories” with a visible impact and dissemination potential.
Uni4inno stimulated the following innovative changes in the Ukrainian Higher Education Instituions and System:
* Reform and modernisation of the institutional strategies, managerial and organizational capacities of 6 Ukrainian Universities in the area of research management, knowledge transfer and innovation
* Modernisation and improvement of university structures through the creation of ‘Innovation Offices’ at 6 Universities. The offices take the function of a TTO: creating awareness and promoting research and innovation in university staff and students, supporting researchers in implementing research an innovation projects, enhanceing participation of the Universities in international projects and programmes; detecting and valorising research results; creating strategic relationships with industry; liaisons and relations with potential sponsors.
* Increased cooperation and networking between HEIs in Ukraine, and between universities and other actors, for a stronger knowledge-triangle: Uni4inno created the IITN Network with the aim to share resoures and promote technolgy transfer in Ukraine.
* Enhanced skills and capacities of staff and students for research, technology transfer and innovation activities.
